Venetian blind hold-down arrangement



5, 1959 J. A. ANDERLE 2,901,035

VENETIAN BLIND HOLD-DOWN ARRANGEMENT Filed Aug 16, 1955 INVENTOR JOSEPH A. ANDERLE HIS ATTORNEYS 2,901,035 VENETIAN BLIND HOLD-DOWN ARRANGEMENT Joseph A. Anderle, Westerleigh, N.Y., assiguor to Lorentzen Hardware Mf Crp., Hoboken, N.J., a corporation of New York Application August 16, 1955, Serial No. 528,693

5 Claims. (Cl. 160-178) invention relates to Venetian blinds, and more particularly to a hold-down bracket for engaging the not only is it very difi icult to stretch the tapes sufliciently bottom bar of a Venetian blind to prevent the blind from swaying.

Venetian blinds are subject to' swaying due to wind, so

that the slats and bottom bar strike against the window, or jamb, making an objectionable noise, scarring the paint,

and sometimes even bending the slats. A similar problem is encountered when a Venetian blind is mounted on a door. Hold-down brackets are sometimes used to prevent swaying of the blind, a hold-down bracket installation consisting of a bracket mounted on the door or on thewindow frame adjacent each end of the bottom bar. Usually, a gudgeon pin protruding from each end of thebottom bar is engaged within a hookline portion of each hold-down bracket to hold the ladder tapesof the blind more or less taut and thereby prevent swaying of theblind. Many hold-down brackets have had downwardly opening, hook-shaped portions for receiving the gudgeon pin, it being necessary to depress the bottom bar slightly so as to stretch the ladder tapes a little while entering the gudgeon pins within the hold-down brackets. Upon releasing the bottom bar, the normal resilience of the ladder tapes biases the bar and gudgeon pins upwardlywith the gudgeon pins being received within the downwardly-opening hooklike portions of the hold-down brackets to prevent fortuitous disengagement of the gudgeon pins from the brackets. A typical hold-down bracket installation of this type'is'disclosed in Lorentzen Patent 2,298,892 of October 13, 1942.

.In closing a Venetian blind, the slats of the blind are simultaneously tilted by the ladder tapes which are suspended from a tilt member extending longitudinally along the top of the blind. In enclosed metal headconstructions, such as that shown in Nelson Patent 2,455,135 of November 30, 1948, the tilt member consists of tape rockers mounted on a tilt "rod that extends within a channel-shaped metal headbar. Regardless of the particular type of tilt member employed, the slats are tilted by raising the ladder tape branches on one face of the blind and dropping the tape branches on the other face of the blind. As the slats of the blind approach fully, closed position, there is a tendency for theladder tape branches 1 that are being raised to be wound up about the tilt member to some degree, thus bodily raising the ladder tapes, slats, and bottom bar. In blinds equipped with escapement tilters, in which the tilt-cord ends areevened up by running the gear segment out of mesh with the worm at blind-closed position, the ladder tape branches are wound about the tilt member to a greater degree in escaping the tilter. Textile ladder tapes formed of various natural and synthetic fibres have suflicient stretch so that a blind may be completely closed even though the bottom bar is engaged by hold-down brackets and held against rising, the tapes again contracting when the slats arereturned to level position.

Certain so-call ed plastic tapes in present use are formed of strips' of soft sheet plastic material reinforced I tente Aug. 25, 1 59 to engage the gudgeon pins of the bottom bar within the hold-down brackets, but, also, such a blind will resist closing since the tapes do not'stretch sufiiciently to permit the tape branches to be wound about the tilt member 7 to the same degree as with textile tapes in closing the blind. Further, when the usual hold-down brackets are used, it is often impossible to escape the tilter of such blinds.

The herein disclosed hold-down bracket of the present invention, which has its greatest utility in use with blinds in which the ladder tapes are substantially nonstretchable, iscomprised of a unitary sheet metal strip formed to provide a gudgeon-pin-receiving portion which is generally oval in outline, the major dimension of the oval extending vertically. One side of the oval is open about midway of its height to permit the gudgeon pin of the bottom bar to be introduced within the oval, the relative diameter of the opening and the gudgeon pin being such that pressing the gudgeon pin against the opening will spread the opening slightly, the gudgeon pin then being retained against fortuitous disengagement.

The gudgeon pin is free to move both upwardly and downwardly within this portion of the hold-down bracket. In such a construction, the gudgeon pin is free to rise somewhat when the slats are tilted to closed position and is free to drop somewhat in the event that the ladder tapes have been cut a fraction of an inch too long. In addition, the gudgeon pin is positively retained against fortuitous disengagement from the bracket, in all tilted positions of the slats of the blind.

Among the objects of the present invention are: to provide a hold-down bracket and installation which are particularly adapted for use with a blind equipped with substantially nonstretchable ladder tape, to provide a holddown bracket and installation in which the gudgeon pin is retained in all tilted positions of the slats and in which the gudgeon pin will not have a tendency to creep out of the bracket on tilting the blind, and generally to improve hold-down brackets and installations of the type described.

.Other objects and the nature and scope of the invention will be more apparent from the detailed description to follow.

, My invention is clearly defined in the appended claims.

times be identified by specific names for clarity and convenience, but such nomenclature is' to be understood as havingrthe broadest meaning consistent with the context and with the concept of my invention as distinguished from the pertinent prior art. The best mode in which I have contemplated carrying outrny invention is illus trated in the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, in which:

Fig; 1'is an isometric view of the lower-left corner of a Venetian blind and window frame, a portion of the window frame being broken away, and a. hold-down bracket according to the present invention being used.

Fig. 2 is an isometric view of a hold-down bracket according to the present invention.

Fig. 3 is-a. side elevation of the hold-down bracket of Fig; 2.

Fig. 4 is a somewhat diagrammatic end elevation of a bottom bar engaged in the hold-down bracket according to the present invention, the bracket being shown in side.

* elevation.

Fig. -is a view similar to Fig. 4, the bottom bar being shown in tilted position.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to-Fig. 5, the bottom bar being shown tiltedin the opposite direction.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of'a second-form of bracket according to the present invention, for mounting on a vertical rather than on a horizontal surface.

Referring now to the drawings, Fig. 1 illustrates a typical hold-down bracket installation using the bracket of the present invention. A Venetian blind 10 is mounted is cylindrical and about A in diameter. In order to,

improve the closure of the blind, the pin 16 maybe located near the upper face of the bottom bar end cap 15.

.Mounted on the sill 19 of the window opening and preferably with one edge against the jamb surface 20 of the opening is a hold-down bracket 21 according to the present invention. The hold-down bracket 21, which is better shown in-Figs. 2 and3, comprises a gudgeonpin-receiving member 22 and a support member 24, the entire bracket-being formed in one piece from a unitary strip of sheet metal.

The gudgeon-pin-receiving member 22 of the bracket is of generally oval outline, the major dimension of the oval extending substantially vertically. The shorter or minor dimension of the interior of the oval is slightly in excess of the diameter of the gudgeon pin 16 and the major dimension of the oval is preferably at least about twice the diameter of the gudgeon pin.

To provide for insertion of the gudgeon pin, the holddown bracket 21 is formed in the shape shown in the drawings to form an opening 25 about midway of the height of one side of the oval. The opening 25 is defined by bights 26 and 27 formed'by folding the intermediate portion and the end portion of the strip more or less back upon itself. The entire bracket is somewhat resilient and the opening 25 is slightly smaller than the sides of the narrowest portion thereof so as to be spread slightly to pass the gudgeon pin .as it is pressed against the opening, either into or out of the oval.

The gudgeon-pin-receiving member 22 of the bracket is preferably formed with a cylindrical, downwardlyconcave upper portion 29 and a cylindrical upwardlyconcave lower portion 30 each having an inner radius slightlyin excess of the radius of the gudgeon pin 16 and the two concave portions being connected together by a generally flat portion 31. The opposed, convex portions.26 and 27 defining the opening 25 are connected with the portions 29 and 30* by essentially straight. portions and 36, respectively. The portions 35 and 36 make suflicientlylarge angles with the horizontal so and. a mounting flange .4-0, the stiffening Iibpreferably extending into the mounting flange.

The mounting flange .40 extendshorizontally [provided with a pair of side flanges 41, 41 and amend the bracket from rotating about the screw.

'4 diameter of the gudgeon pin 16, and 1s flaring on both 5 that, upon tilting the slats of'the blind, the gudgeon pin The side edges 46 and 47 of the bracket 21, including the side flanges 41, 41 lie in two.spaced,.parallel,-Nertical planes. Accordingly, the bracket may bemounted with either side edge thereof closely adjacent either 'jamb surface 20 :ofa window opening, and the bracket is equally adaptable for mounting on either side, no rights or lefts being required.

In a proper installation, the bottombar 14 of the blind will hang with the gudgeon pins 16 (one shown in the drawings) directly opposite the opening 25. of each holddown bracket 21. If necessary, the support portion 24 of the bracket can be bent slightly to change its anglejand thus adjust the height of the opening. With the gudgeon pins resting against the opposed convex portions26 and i 27 at the opening v25 of each bracket, pressure may be exerted by hand upon the bottom bar to cause the gudgeon pins to spread the opening slightly to admit the gudgeon pins within the pin-receiving member 22 of each bracket.

The bracket is sufliciently resilient to resume its original contour when the gudgeon pin has entered the oval of the bracket.

In a blind in which the ladder tapes are of proper length, the gudgeon pin 16 will be supported directly opposite the opening 25 when the slats are level in blind-open position. Even though the blind may sway. somewhat, the gudgeon pins will not strike or press against the, convex portions 26 and 27 adjacent the openings 25 with suflicient force to spread the openings and release the gudgeon pins. Normal position is shownrin Fig. 4.

If the ladder tapes of a blind should be cut a little long, the gudgeon pin 16 may be suspended a little lower than indicated in Fig. 4 when the slats are level, but

tion, the bottom bar 14 and end cap 15 will be rotated as indicated in Figs. 5 and 6. As the slats of the blind are rotated, the bottom bar will be raised slightly as the tape branches 11 on one face of the blind are raised and more or less wound up on the tilt member. As the bottom bar 14 is raised, the gudgeon pin 16 will approach the concave portion 29 of the pin-receiving member of the bracket until, in fully closed position of the slats, the gudgeon pins 16 may be pressed againstthe portion,.29.

,. However, the space provided for the rise of ,thegudgeon pin 16 in the closing of the blind is suficient so that, even when nonstretchable ladder tapes are used, complete closure of the blind and even escapement of the tilter, such as disclosed in Nelson 2,174,994 of October ,3, 1939, is permitted.

The second form of bracket shown in Fig.7 is essentially the same as. the bracket previously described and operates in a similar manner, similar reference characters being applied to the corresponding partsof the two brackets.

The bracket 49 of Fig. 7 has agudgeon-pin-receiving member 22, which is similar in all respects to the gudgeonpin-receiving member 22 of the bracket previously described. However, the support member 50 of the bracket ,49 extendsdownwardly at an angle and then generally horizontally, and terminates in a vertically extending mounting flange 51 which. may otherwise be similar, to

the mounting flange 40 of the bracket previously described. Preferably, a corrugation or rib 52 extends longitudinally of the support portion 50 and into the mounting flange 51.

The bracket 49 is adapted for mounting on vertical surfaces and is used in the outside mounting of blinds, in which the blind is suspended from the face of a window frame rather than between the jamb surfaces, and when a blind is mounted on the face of a door. Inasmuch as the opening 25 of bracket 49 is about midway of the height of the gudgeon-pin-receiving member 22 of the bracket, the bracket may be mounted with equal facility with the mounting flange 51 extending downwardly from the pin-receiving member 22 of the bracket, as shown in the drawings, or the bracket may be inverted so that the flange extends upwardly therefrom as personal choice or the contour of the surface upon which the bracket is being mounted may dictate or require.

I claim:

1. In a Venetian blind organization in which the bottom bar of the blind is provided with gudgeon pins extending from the ends thereof and hold-down brackets are provided for receiving the gudgeon pins and holding the blind against substantial swinging movement, the improvement which comprises: each hold-down bracket having a hollow oval portion for receiving and retaining its associated gudgeon pin, the oval having about midway between its top and bottom a side opening of somewhat lesser height than the diameter of the gudgeon pin and providing for horizontal entry of the gudgeon pin into the oval with the bottom bar at normal level, the oval formation being sufliciently yieldable for the gudgeon pin to be forced horizontally sidewise through the side opening to locate the pin within the oval and the oval formation being sufliciently resilient to restore the side opening to approximately its original size and thereby hold the gudgeon pin against fortuitous disengagement from the oval, the shorter diameter of the oval being disposed substantially horizontally and being slightly in excess of the diameter of the gudgeon pin and the longer diameter of the oval being disposed substantially vertically and being considerably in excess of the diameter of the gudgeon pin whereby the gudgeon pin may freely rise and fall in the oval as the slats of the blind are tilted.

2. The improvement as in claim 1 in which the bracket is of sheet metal and includes a body portion, the oval for receiving and retaining the gudgeon pin being adjacent to one end of the body portion, and the bracket having a mounting flange that extends from the other end of the body portion.

3. The improvement as in claim 2 in which the bracket is formed 'of an elongated strip of sheet metal which is recurved and provides a rounded nose at the bottom of the side-opening in the oval, and the mounting flange extends lengthwise from the body portion at an angle thereto.

4. The improvement as in claim 3 in which the strip is curved outwardly at the top of the side-opening in the oval and provides a rounded nose at the top of the sideopening.

5. The improvement as in claim 2 in which the bracket is formed of an elongated strip of sheet metal, the mounting flange extends at an angle to the body portion, and the respective longitudinal edges of the body portion, mounting flange and oval lie in common vertical planes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,122,390 Heater Dec. 29, 1914 1,211,402 Burrowes Jan. 9, 1917 2,181,412 Wood Nov. 28, 1939 2,287,382 Livingston June 23, 1942 2,298,892 Lorentzen Oct. 13, 1942 2,746,541 Tash May 22, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 27 2 e land Feb- 1952 

